Reno's Past
by fffanatic666
Summary: This is the story of Reno's past, starting from when he's about sixteen all the way to when he became a turk.
1. Minden, the fisher town

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or any of it's characters

Hey, thanks for giving this story a try, I hope you enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Chapter One: Minden, the fisher town

Minden was a small town on the continent controlled by Shinra, on the northeast section. There were a little north of the Mythril Mines, in fact those who didn't work as a fisherman usually worked at the Mythril Mines, or at a shop in the town. Working at the mines made a lot of money, since the mines were filled with mythril, which was very popular metal that the people of Minden used and it was pretty cheap.

Minden boarded the ocean and was about twice as large as Kalm, and even a little bigger because of their harbor. The harbor of Minden had to be very large, because almost everyone in the village worked as a fisherman, and most of them owned their own ship. The town was a fairly rich town, since they could live off the land pretty well, since the land was fertile, and not only could they fish and mine, but there were also quite a few farmers in the area.

However, farmers were a dying breed, since the land was beginning to grow muddier and much less fertile, due to the wastes Midgar left on the land. According to the miners, the mud around the mines were getting so thick that they may start to getting chocobos to get to the mines, otherwise it would take a lot longer for them to get there. However, farming was still good, and they may need to start worrying about the muddy lands taking over their farms.

Over all, Minden was a good rich harbor city, that was certainly a good and rich place for several people to live, but who still liked that homey feeling. Unlike Midgar, where there were to upper class, and the dirt class, nothing in between. Either they lived in upper Midgar, where life was great and carefree, but it was still a metal town, with no grass or dirt or anything, just a metal ground. And if the people lived in lower Midgar, like most of the people, and lived in their dirty litter filled land, with their poor homes.

Minden was very similar to Kalm, a town that they commonly traded with, since they didn't have to cross the mines to reach it. The homes were built in a similar fashion, except they were generally bigger and in better condition. The town's roads, however, were different than Kalm's, as they were not just around a main center, but were more like straight lines, with intersections, these, unlike the roads in Kalm, were for the cars owned by the people in Minden. However, Kalm didn't need the roads, since most of the villagers didn't have a car, and if they did it would be rarely used, unless they traveled to different towns, since the town was so very small, they could just walk around the town.

Reno was average height for a fourteen year old, and he was one of the most popular kids in his school. He had messy red hair and was in excellent shape. He had a perfect six pack on his abs, and had awesome arm muscles, but you wouldn't be able to tell it by looking at him. He was very fast, too, he could run a mile in about five and a half minutes. All that made him not only an excellent football, soccer, basketball, and baseball player but it also made all the ladies want him.

Reno was only fourteen and he had already slept with three different young woman all his age or a year older. He had a small fling with each of them, dating them each as little as two months and to a max of six months. However, none of them really seemed to be his type, not enough for a real good time together. Actually, for the one girl that he had been together for six months, he would probably had broken up with her within a month. Her name was Jamie Kennedy, and had a really nasty attitude, but looked _great_. She had long red hair, though it would get darker in the winter, and brown eyes, and stood a couple inches lower than Reno.

Rune could still remember that he had set up the date to break up with her and everything. He decided to let her go really easy, and he had some flowers and cheap earrings to give her, when he broke up with her, so there would be less hard feelings. But then, when she came over, she immediately saw the flowers and the flowers, but seemed to think they were a gift for her as his girlfriend, not as a break up date.

She, however, thought of it as a gift, and Reno tried to stop her, but then she said she wanted to reward him for the gifts. At this point, Reno couldn't, nor wouldn't want to, stop her. Jamie was excellent in bed, and that _outstanding_ ability gave her five and a half more months with Reno. However, despite the excellent ability, Reno could only put up with her annoying attitude for so long, and he broke up with her. That time, he didn't give her any parting gifts.

Reno's father was a miner named Robert at Mythril Mines, he was a man who looked very much like Reno except his muscles bulged more and he had smooth black hair. Reno's mother worked part time at the local materia shop, and would occasionally buy some materia for Reno to use. She, her name was Julia, thought Reno was a natural, and she would know, since she was in the Shinra military. She never became more than a foot soldier, and she only went on a few missions that helped people from monsters, but she was still given some basic materia.

So far, she had given Reno a fire, bolt, and a cure materia. Reno trained with his fists, and would put the materia in his fighting knuckles, but Reno really wanted to use guns, but he was too young to use them yet. Reno had never been in sports, and instead he would train for about two hours a day with his fists and his materia. Generally, he would train more with his fists instead of his materia, since he always thought that anyone who wasn't strong enough to hold up in a fight, that person wouldn't have time to use their materia.

However, Reno would always be sure to spend a good thirty minutes a day, at least, sometimes he would spend as much as an hour and a half and never even notice it. Reno, however, didn't like using materia. It seemed to mess with his head, like he remembered the first time he had ever used materia, it had been a bolt attack.

Well, firstly, he was two years younger than the recommended age for using materia, but he had gotten his hands on his mother's bolt materia. He ran off with it, like a thief, and went about half a mile away from the town. Then, he had used the bolt materia, and he found it fairly easy to use. However, afterwards he had suffered from a terrible migraine, and he was lucky to have been found by some miners returning from the mine.

He had spent one night in the hospital, and they had said he was physically and mentally alright, but since he was so young, he would be suffering from migraines for a while. he ended up suffering from migraines for the next three weeks, and every day of that he had spent in his bed with a temperature of 103 degrees. Ever since then, Reno never really cared for materia or magic, but he did realize it's power, and had great respect for any wizard or magic user. Also, he had always been very good, his mother says that it was because he had used it when he was so young, but even back then, he had been able to use it his first time. That was a great accomplishment, since all the other people who used materia, had to try it at least three times before they were able to use it.

Reno was training in the valley between Kalm and Minden, where he usually did, and fought against the small beasts. He was wearing his usual training clothes, a white muscle shirt and red jeans which matched his hair almost perfectly. He was just about to start training with his materia, but then he heard an ear piercing scream. Reno instantly turned to the source of the sound, which means turning towards Kalm, and began running towards it.

There, he saw a carriage that had been tipped over, lead by two chocobos that seemed to be either dead or badly injured. There was a young woman who looked about Reno's age, and a young boy who looked about two years younger than Reno, and an older woman, about thirty, and a man a little older than the woman. _Probably a family_, Reno thought, and then he saw what they were hiding from. There was a Wutai soldier standing, and there were about three around him, dead, and about three dead Shinra soldiers on the ground.

The Wutai soldier was shouting someone at the family, with a machine gun raised in their direction. The soldier sounded insane in the way he had shouted, maybe he was just angry with anger, since it seemed that the soldier had lost all his allies. Reno didn't doubt that the soldier would be insane, if Reno were in the same situation, he probably wouldn't be able to restrain himself from shooting the people.

"Mom! Dad!" the young woman cried.

_Aw shit! I have to help them!_ Reno thought, then thought of a way. There was only one of them, and a surprise attack would be able to take him down, even if it was a soldier. But what could he use? He didn't have a gun, only his fists, and that wouldn't be very secret, nor would it be enough to take care of the soldier. But then he remembered, he could use his materia. However, his magic may not be enough to take out a soldier, but he had to try, right?

Reno closed his eyes and focused deeply on his bolt materia. The materia on his knuckles began to glow, and then Reno screamed, "BOLT!!!"

All the people turned to him, including the soldier, but the soldier wasn't able to look at him for long, when the lightning bolt struck him. However, that didn't take the soldier down, so Reno ran up to the soldier and began beating him as hard as he could in the face. The soldier hit Reno's face with the but of his machine gun, and Reno fell to the ground, now his face stinging, but he had bigger problems.

"Say goodbye, motherfucker," the soldier said with his machine gun in Reno's face.

Reno, thinking purely on instant, kicked the back of the soldier's shin, making him fall, however, his machine gun went off, each bullet shooting up dirt right next to Reno's face. Reno then rolled on top of the soldier, his crouch on the soldier's stomach, and began beating the soldier's face. Reno knew which areas were weaker, and he had to use that to his advantage. Reno punched the bridge of the soldier's nose three times, make certain that it was broken, but he was pretty sure it was broken after the first punch.

Blood was now smeared on Reno's fists, and then Reno began punching the soldier's jaw, knowing that was another weak point, and he was about to dislocate it, when the soldier regained his strength. The soldier punched Reno cleanly in the stomach, making Reno instantly clasp his stomach, and then the soldier punched Reno in his ribs, so hard that it made him fall off the soldier.

The Wutai soldier reached for his machine gun, that was just out of his reach before, and then tried to aim it at Reno, until a fire began on his chest. The soldier shouted, dropping the gun instantly, and then tried to ripe off his shirt, until he fell down.

When the soldier was down, Reno began slamming his boot into the soldier's face, making sure the soldier was dead. Reno then began kicking the soldier's chest and neck, putting out the fire and separating the bones in his throat.

Suddenly, he felt scared. Had he _really_ just killed someone? Certainly he didn't. He doubted that he could take away a human life. Reno crouched down next to the soldier's body, and felt his neck for a pulse, but his neck was so smashed up, Reno could feel and move the bones that were in the soldier's neck. Once Reno, obviously, didn't find a pulse, he checked the man's wrist.

His wrist was in much better condition and was actually together, however, the only pulse Reno felt was the one beating through himself. _Oh my god..._ Reno thought. _I... I killed someone..._

Suddenly, Reno felt like he wanted to run. Like he wanted to get out of here. As if he had done something against the law. Obviously he hadn't since Shinra and Wutai were at war, but he still felt worried. He stood and was about to turn, when he heard:

"I-Is he dead...?"

Reno turned frantically, and saw the people standing there, the people that he had protected. Suddenly, he remembered how he felt when he saw that those people's life were in danger, and nodded, "I... I'm pretty sure he is," Reno answered, he was still scared, but he suddenly felt like he had done the right thing, and the confidence that he had before he killed the soldier returned, "Where were you headed? Maybe I could help you the rest of the way."

"Oh, we were heading to a town called Minden," the older woman answered. "Have you heard of it?"

"Yeah," Reno chuckled. "That's where I'm from. It's not too far from here. We should be able to make it there in about two hours or so. By the way, I'm Reno."

"Hello Reno," the older man said. He had a thick brown mustache and matching brown hair that was currently messy, and he had a bloody nose. He had light brown eyes, still coated with fear, which wasn't surprising after seeing a battle, and he was tall, probably around six feet. The older woman next to him, the woman who Reno guessed was his wife, had long smooth black hair, that was thinning at the temples and had some, though few, gray strands. She was fairly short, nothing over five foot seven, and had dark brown eyes. They were both wearing very fancy clothes, the old man was wearing a black suit, it looked suede and must have cost at least three hundred gil, and the woman was wearing a now dirty red dress. "Do you know which village is closer? Kalm, or Minden?"

"Definitely Minden," Reno answered. "I'll escort you there, Mr..."

"Oh I'm sorry," the old man responded with a chuckle, though Reno could tell that it was a fake chuckle, he was probably still recovering from his attack. "I am Charles Nettle," he then pointed to the older woman, "this is my wife, Lucy Nettle," he then pointed to the children. The boy had black hair, like his mother, but with the thickness of his father's. His dark eyes were wide, probably replaying the events that had happened to him and his family, and that almost made Reno pity the boy. The young woman was gorgeous, much more beautiful than Jamie ever could be, and Jamie was the prettiest young woman in Minden! She had long black hair, like her mother, and had stunning bright green eyes, also wide with fear, but she didn't seem as dazed as her brother, and she stared at Reno, with what he thought was either amazement or honor. Both the children, like the parents, were wearing very fancy clothes, the boy in a suit almost identical to his fathers, and the girl in a dress similar to her mother's except much shorter, and Reno felt a small hint of red go to his cheeks when he saw her, but the family probably dismissed it, since he had just killed a soldier. "And these are our two children, Maximus and Raine."

Reno showed a small smile to the two children and waved, the young woman waved back with a small, fake smile, but the boy remained silent, as it was all probably replaying in his mind. "Well, I would be happy to bring you back to Minden," Reno told the old man, who smiled graciously.

"Thank you very much, young man," the elder man smiled. "And you will be well rewarded for all this, why, you saved our lives!"

Reno felt the blush returning, and said, "It's alright, Mr. Nettle, I'm sure if anyone else were to have seen you, they would have done the same."

"Perhaps," the old man replied. "But _you_ did do something. And I gratefully thank you, young Reno."

"If you want," Reno told them. "We can talk when we get back. For now, we should be probably start heading back. Less we want to battle more Wutai soldiers."

"Yes of course!" the old man said, and turned to his family. "Get all the valuables from the carriage! Be sure to grab only the things that you think you can carry all the way to Minden, once you are there, I shall hire a few brave men to come back here and get the rest."

The family all headed back to the carriage, and seemed to be taking their sweet time looking through their things. Reno really wished they could just leave, unless the valuables they were grabbing was worth all their lives, since he would guess that more soldiers would be coming back soon, unless they hadn't heard the screams, or it was just a small group set on the continent. But then, Reno remembered some of the miners, including his father, saying that they ran into some Wutai soldiers the other day, and that they had to fight them.

Reno then walked up to the fallen soldiers and looked over the remains. The Wutai foot soldiers all were trained like normal militia, with guns, but they also had samurai and ninjas, who were specially trained, and could probably easily take down about five or ten Shinra soldiers alone. Reno inspected the body and took out two guns, the machine gun that the soldier had been pointing at the family, and a decent sized silver pistol.

Reno liked the pistol, it had about a six inch barrel, and a ridged handle, made of something that felt similar to rubber, and had a very smooth, welcoming trigger. Reno also took off the belt of the soldier and strapped it around his own pants, and then put the pistol inside it's holster.

Reno then walked down to the family, and tapped the man's shoulder with his left hand, holding the machine gun in his right. Mr. Nettle turned around, saw the machine gun, and fell on his back, with his arms covering his face. "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" he screamed. "YOU CAN TAKE ANYTHING YOU WANT FROM THE CARRIAGE! JUST DON'T KILL ME OR MY FAMILY!"

Reno shook his head, embarrassed, and said, "I'm not going to kill you! I'm handing you this machine gun. In case we run into any other soldiers, we should be ready."

"Oh... yes..." Mr. Nettle responded as he stood up. Reno handed the machine gun over to the man, who seemed to inspect it for a minute, then strapped it over his shoulder. He then turned back to his family, and said, "Everyone ready?"

They all nodded, all of them still seemed scared, but then began to follow Reno and the man as they walked across the plains. Reno kept his right hand on the pistol's handle at all times, because it felt nice against his hands and because he really was expecting an attack. Reno and Mr. Nettle talked, speaking mostly about the event that had just occurred. "We were going down to Minden in our carriage. Then, almost at once, all the chocobo were shot, and the Shinra soldiers leapt from the carriage and outside. One of the Wutai soldiers must have thrown a grenade or something, because the carriage tipped over, that's how I got this," the man said, pointing to his nose which was bleeding through the cloth that he had stuck up there, which made Reno wonder if it was broken. "But anyway, me and my family escaped, and hide behind the carriage. I was lucky, and found a steel pipe that must have been attached to the bottom of the carriage, and used it for protection. One Wutai soldier came down with his pistol, one identical to yours, Reno, and told us to come out with our hands up. I hit him with the bar. He went down, at the time I thought he was unconscious, but now I'm certain he is dead. Anyway, I was about to check if he was dead or not, when some bullets flew down from behind the carriage. I wasn't hit, but a couple of the bullets hit the fallen soldier. He threw another grenade, this one landing behind the carriage, and me and my family ran out just in time, since it blew up right behind me. That was when the soldier had us cornered, and my daughter screamed when she saw him. He began making some demands, and then you showed up."

"You really saved our lives," Mrs. Nettle added, now, like her husband, more happy to be alive than frightened of the events.

"As I said, anyone would have done the same," Reno told the two.

"And, as we tell you," Mr. Nettle said. "You did. And I doubt that anyone would have done the same, and if they did, I doubt they would have been able to kill the soldier."

Reno winced a little at the word "kill," but the Nettles either didn't notice, or chose not to, and Mrs. Nettle added, "We owe you so much. We'll give you anything you want! You saved our lives! We owe you everything!"

"It's alright," Reno told them. He really didn't feel comfortable talking about how he killed that soldier. Afterwards, he began to think, what if that soldier had a family or something. What would they think of them? How terrible he would feel if he found out such information. So, he decided to change the subject, and hoping not to return, at least until the next day, "But ah... I noticed that there were Shinra soldiers with you. Why? Do you work for them, or did you hire them or something?"

"Oh," the man smiled. "I used to work for Shinra. I was one of the top people in the weapons department, and when I retired, my apprentice, a young woman named Scarlet, took my place. I retired, and wanted to move into Minden."

"Why Minden?" Reno asked.

"It's a homely place," the man responded. "And it's rich, and has grass. I want my kids to see grass, since I never did until now. I lived in Midgar all my life, and I never seen grass or any plant life in all my life, but I didn't my kids to be like that."

"Oh," Reno nodded. He was surprised by the softness that the man was showing, since when many people think of Shinra and the employees, they think that the people are cruel and harsh. But this man seemed quite the opposite.

"Yes, and Shinra agreed to send us with some soldiers, since some Wutai soldiers have appeared from... somewhere..." Reno had a feeling that this man knew where the Wutai soldiers were, but he didn't want to push it, especially after all they've been through.

"Well, you'll be safe in Minden," Reno told Nettle.

He laughed, and responded, "I _know_ I'll be alright in Minden. I doubt Wutai has any interest in a small town like Minden."

Reno chuckled, and responded, "Yeah, you're right. I don't know why any military group would come to Minden."

They shared a laugh.

How wrong they were.

Hey, thanks for reading it.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

More to come.


	2. Raine Nettle

Hey, thanks for coming back.

I hope you enjoy the chapter, and when you're finished, PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or any of it's characters.

Chapter Two: Raine Nettle

The next day, Reno woke up at ten thirteen, and lied in bed for the next five minutes. The Nettles had paid some miners to go get their things the night before, and the miners instantly agreed, and Reno believed it with the money Mr. Nettle offered. Reno knew it was a lot, as his father was one of the miners that were hired. They came back late last night, around one a.m., when Reno was just about to fall asleep. Mr. Nettle told Reno to come over the next day, to receive his reward, Reno said that he didn't need an award, but Nettle insisted, so Reno would go.

At ten eighteen, Reno lazily got up, picked out some clothes from his dresser, and took a shower. Ten minutes after he got out of the shower, Reno walked out of the bathroom in black jeans and an all black t-shirt. The shirt was a little tight, and people could see Reno's abdominal muscles quite well, but Reno liked it that way, along with most of the women. Reno walked down stairs, and began cooking some eggs.

He took out two pieces of white bread, and put the cooked eggs on it, then he began eating the egg sandwich silently at the kitchen table. Or, at least, it was silent until his mother came downstairs. "Are you going to go to the Nettles looking like _that_?" she asked. She had dark red hair, like Reno, and was just a little shorter than him, by about an inch, and was wearing blue jeans and a green shirt with a rose in the center.

"What's wrong with this?" Reno asked.

"Those people are rich!" his mother cried. "And you're going to wear old clothes like that?!"

"Yeah," Reno responded, quickly taking a bit of his sandwich to hid a grin.

"What's all the damn ruckus?!" a deep voice shouted.

Then, Reno's father showed himself. He was a man about three inches taller than Reno and much bigger arms and legs. He hard black hair and cold, dark eyes, and he had very straight and stern features. He was wearing blue jean overalls with a black t-shirt underneath, and he had a helmet in one hand. Not only did Reno share very many looks with him, but Reno absolutely hated him.

"Oh, it's nothing hunny," Reno's mother purred in the man's ear.

"Damn it, Julia!" Reno's mother shouted, and looked like he was about to hit her. "Don't lie to me! Don't tell me there's nothin' wrong when there damn certainly is somethin' wrong!"

"No, it's nothing, Robert," the woman continued, looking slightly taken back by the man's comment. "Really, Reno didn't do any-"

"_RENO_?!" the man shouted, and ran up to Reno, and rightly grasped the younger man's shoulder. "_You little bastard_! _What the hell did you do_?!"

"I-" Reno began, however the intense pain in his shoulder stopped him, and it turned into a shout of pain.

"Hunny!" Reno's mother cried, and ran over to the large man, wrapping her arms around his stomach. "He was just heading over to get his reward from the Nettles! That's all! Really, you don't need to be so-"

The pain in Reno's shoulder left him, and became double on his mother's face, as Robert slapped her cheek. She cried in pain, and fell to the ground, holding her cheek. "You _fuckin'_ bitch!" he shouted, glared back at Reno, then left the house, slamming the door behind him.

Reno crouched down next to his mother, and helped her up. "You ok, mom?" Reno asked.

"I'll be alright..." she muttered, rubbing the red spot.

"..." Reno was silent, and then, after a minute, he silently said, "you... should divorce him..."

"I know I should..." the woman responded as she sat in the place Reno sat before. "But... well... if you think I should..." she looked up at Reno, who was nodding furiously, "then... I'll consider it..."

"Thanks mom," Reno told her, and pushed his plate with the half-eaten egg sandwich on it closer to his mother. "You can finish it. I should be heading to the Nettles. See ya later, mom," Reno told her, and then left out the door his father had earlier.

He remembered the first time that he had seen his father beat on his mother. Reno was horrified and instantly ran to his mother's side, and his father had left the home, as usual. Reno had never been so scared when he saw it, but his mother acted coolly, like she had now, and Reno later realized that was because she had been treated in such a manner before. Soon, Reno got used to watching his father beat his mother and adapted to the cool manner that his mother had. However, Reno would never forgive his father for the event.

Ever since that, Reno had been pretty good at masking his emotions when he was scared or worried. That ability was always nice (especially later, when he became a turk), and would also be good when he gambled. He knew that other people were jealous of the ability, specifically the people he gambled with, and he would just grin. Hiding the horrible fact that gave him the ability.

Reno walked down the familiar streets until he reached a very large mansion, with at least twelve windows overlooking the street Reno now stood on. It was an old mansion, it was said to once housed a Shinra official, and was called 'The Shinra Mansion.' He remembered, as a kid, he and some of his friends would share ghost stories about the home, but none of them were ever too scary. Or true, for that matter.

Reno walked up to the door, and knocked once, when someone answered the door. It was an older man, probably in his mid-fifties, with gray hair and dull blue eyes, dressed in a black suit with a black tie, and Reno instantly realized that he was a butler. Reno blinked once, surprised at seeing the butler, since he both didn't know that the Nettles had a butler nor knew that there was a man who worked as a butler in the town.

Before Reno could say anything, the butler asked, "Would you be Master Reno?"

"Uhh..." Reno mumbled, never being called Master Reno before, but then regained his stature and responded in his usual confidence, "Yeah, I'm him."

"Very well, please follow me inside," the butler said, offering him inside. Reno went inside, and looked around, it looked like it had brand knew carpet and was very well cleaned, Reno could still smell the lemony scent, and saw several paintings on the clean white walls. If Reno didn't know better, he would think the house was brand spankin' new. The butler lead him into a room that had a long leather couch and two chairs at each side, and saw Mr. and Mrs. Nettle sitting next to each other on the couch, both reading a book.

They both looked up and smiled at Reno. "Good morning, Reno," Mrs. Nettle smiled. "We were beginning to wonder if you were going to show up."

Reno scratched the back of his messy red hair and chuckled. Mr. Nettle then said, "Please sit down, Reno." Reno took a seat in one of the chairs, and instantly realized it was the most comfortable chair he had ever came across. It was very soft, but at the same time, it still had a firmness, making it just about the perfect combination. Reno rested his arms on the leather arm rests, and looked over at the two.

"We would like to thank you again," Mrs. Nettle began. "For saving us."

"It's alright," Reno smiled.

"Well, either way," Mr. Nettle said. "We would like to award you with a small reward." the old man smiled, then shouted, "Benjamin! Get Master Reno his reward!"

A second later, the butler came back with a silver plate that one might put on their lap and eat food from on a couch. However, on this was a large brown leather bag, and next to it was a gun that immediately drew Reno's attention. The butler put it on Reno's lap, and then bowed in front of his employers and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"No, that'll be all Benjamin," Mr. Nettle smiled. "Thank you." The butler bowed once again and left.

Reno, however, didn't catch any of this, as he was so focused on the gun on his lap. It was very similar to the gun he had the previous day, except it was black, and the ridges on the side weren't as large. The barrel was still about five or six inches, and the trigger, to Reno's eyes, was still very inviting. Next to that, was a black belt with a holster on it's right side and a small pouch on the other side. Reno knew what the pouch was for and guessed that there were some bullets in there.

"These is the least we can do," Mrs. Nettle smiled.

Reno looked up to them, still in shock, but the Nettles barely noticed, due to that ill gotten mask, but it was still noticeable. "I..." Reno mumbled. "I'm sorry... but my parents wouldn't let me have a _gun_-"

"On the contrary," Mr. Nettle interrupted. "We spoke to your mother just shortly before you arrived. She agreed that you could have the weapon."

"Really?" Reno asked, still in shock.

"It's a .45 magnum," Mr. Nettle responded. Reno just still seemed completely shocked.

"If you don't like it we could go back to the shop and-" Mrs. Nettle began.

"No. This is great," Reno said, then grinned. "This is _excellent_! I always wanted a gun!"

"Well that's good," Mr. Nettle smiled.

Just then, Reno realized how insane he must have sounded. And then Reno focused on the leather bag, with a little hint of red in his cheeks. "What's this..." Reno muttered, and looked into the bag. Instantly he saw several glittering coins, and Reno almost fell back, completely surprised by the large amount of gil.

The Nettles saw this, and smiled.

"There's one million gil in the bag," Mr. Nettle told him.

Reno looked amazed, and now everyone could tell. "I..." Reno mumbled. "Uhh..."

"It's alright, Reno," Mr. Nettle said. "As I said, it's the least we could do."

"You really... didn't need to," Reno mumbled, still in shock.

"But we did," the man said. "Now, Reno, you may go, if you wish."

"Um... alright..." Reno nodded and stood, setting the dish where he sat. He first strapped the belt around his pants, making it fit at the second smallest size, and put the gun, much to his dismay, in the holster. Then he picked up the bag of money. "Thank you... so much..."

Reno was being lead out by Mr. Nettle, and then a young boy ran down. The boy was, naturally, the same boy that was traumatized the previous day. "Reno!" the boy exclaimed, and ran up to Reno, then offered his hand.

Reno grabbed it, shook it, and smiled. _What was this kid's name?_ Reno thought. _Michael or something?_

"Thank you, so much for saving us!" the boy said with a glimmer in his eyes. Reno knew that glimmer, it was a glimmer of idolization. "I wish I could be cool like you!"

"Max!" someone called from upstairs. They came outside of a room, and then Reno saw Raine, he remembered her name, and if he thought she was beautiful yesterday, and he did, she was a goddess this morning. "Oh... Reno!"

"Hey," Reno responded, waving his hand to her. However, she ran down the stairs, wearing a beautiful blue dress that, like the one the day before, was a little short. She then almost tackled into Reno, and wrapped her arms around his stomach, and held him close to her. Reno immediately felt a deep blush, and had to dig his hand into his pocket to cover his erection, since it was a surprise, she was _very_ beautiful, and she was wearing a very nice dress.

Almost a second later, she let go of him and looked down, hiding blush and, probably, deeply embarrassed. "Raine!" Mrs. Nettle exclaimed, surprised.

"Um... thank you, Reno," Raine quietly said, still deeply blushing.

"Uhh, it's alright," Reno said. "I got... _more _than a generous reward."

"I'm sure it was nothing compared to what you deserve," she said and looked up at Reno, making her blush a little again. Reno mentally grinned at this, being sure not to show it, so the family wouldn't get the wrong idea about him.

"Well, I should leave," Reno said. He waved, they waved back, then he left and headed home.

When he reached home, he was surprised to find that his mother wasn't home, but decided that she was probably working at her part time job down at the materia shop. Reno went up to his room, and hid the bag of gil under his bed, and decided that once his mom came home, he would go to the materia shop and buy new materia. He also decided that he would go to the weapon shop and by new knuckles, though he wouldn't need to use it as much, since he would now have a gun. And that's exactly what he wanted to use right now.

He quickly went to his usual training spot, and brought a piece of paper. Reno went up and posted the piece of paper on a tree, and took out his new handgun. It was a .45 magnum, according to the Nettles, and there was no reason why he shouldn't believe them. He went about thirty feet away from the paper, carefully aimed at the sheet of paper, and fired the weapon.

The recoil was much weaker than he expected it to be, though he could tell that the gun was much stronger than it's recoil. The bullet hit the paper, and not only blew away the bottom right half of it, near where he hit, it also blew off a lot of the tree and it's bark. Reno, utterly surprised by the power, ran up to where it shot and looked at the wound, the wound in the tree was pretty deep, and Reno doubted the tree would ever be able to recover from the wound.

Reno walked back to where he was, and aimed for the paper again, then he fired. This time, he must have hit somewhere near the center of the page, since about three fourths of the paper was blown apart. Reno grinned, happy of his skills, and he was surprised, since he was so good at the newfound weapon, then he heard a silent gasp behind him.

Reno spun instantly and raised his guns, aiming into the woods. "I know you're there!" Reno shouted, worried that it might be Wutai soldiers, coming for revenge. "Come out! Come out now!"

"Don't shoot!" a soft voice called that Reno immediately recognized. Raine Nettle came out of the forest with her hands up, looking a little scared.

"Raine," Reno said as he put the magnum in it's holster. "I'm sorry. I was worried that it might have been Wutai soldiers."

"It's alright," she responded. "I understand. I probably shouldn't have snuck up on you like that..."

Reno shrugged, and then asked, "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Well, my parents said that I should go out and get some friends," Raine explained. "And, well, I only knew you, so I figured I would try and find you..."

"Well, why did you come way out here?" Reno asked.

"Well," Raine sadly said, and then looked down. "I found some people our age... and I asked a nice girl named Jamie about you..."

"Jamie..." Reno silently hissed.

"And she told me to... get lost... and that no one likes me..." Raine then made a little sob, and Reno walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Then... she called me... a rich bitch... and she and her friends... they began to throw things at me... and I ran out here.... then I heard a gunshot... I was scared, but I went to check it out... then I saw you..." Reno was extremely angry at Jamie, she had taken the break up pretty hard, but to still be taking it so hard, that was just pathetic.

"I'm sorry," Reno said. She then wrapped her arms around Reno and hugged him even harder than the before. Reno was a little surprised but the sudden almost tackle, but he welcomed it, and hugged back. For a moment, he felt something deep for her, not quite love, but a definite attraction. It was like a natural attraction that he had towards her, not just because of her gorgeous body, but because of the way she was so... defenseless.

As Reno held her in his arms, he felt as if he could hold her forever. He was not unknown of this emotion, he had felt it several times before in his life, but this time it seemed different, but, he thought, that was probably just because she seemed defenseless. For the first time in his life, or at least the first time he could remember, he really felt like he was needed. Like he was a necessity. _Actually_, Reno thought. _All the Nettles make me feel like that... the two parents showed me with gifts... the boy, Max, idolizes me... And now Raine..._

Raine released the Reno, and then looked down, he saw tears seeping down her face, and Reno wiped them away for her. Had he been thinking about how he had been doing, he probably wouldn't have done that, but he was a romantic, and he tends to do things like that without even noticing it. The minute he realized he had done that, once he had wiped them all away, he recoiled his hand and said, "Oh... uh, I'm sorry..."

"Thank you, Reno," she said, tears still sliding down her face. Reno wiped them away as well, but then she gently grabbed his hand, and looked in his eyes with her own watery ones. The two slowly got closer, and their lips touched. Slowly, their kiss began more passionate, as their tongues touched and danced with each other. After what seemed like an eternity, they separated, and they both wanted to rejoin.

They looked into each other's eyes once more, her eyes now clear of water and full of love and slightly embarrassed. Reno held and rubbed her arms, and then she stepped back, out of Reno's grip, and said, "I'm... sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

Reno was about to walk closer and tell her that it was alright, and that he wanted to do that just as much if not more than she, but he knew that her family was high on the Shinra board, and if they were involved with Reno's family, a family where a father beat's his own wife, they may try to kill Reno. So, Reno stayed where he was, and said, "No, I should be sorry. It's... my fault."

She smiled and said, "Well... I guess I should be going..." she turned and then said, "thank you, Reno... you really helped me..."

"It's alright, Raine," replied Reno.

As she left, Reno waited about five minutes, and then cursed to himself. _Goddamnit_! Reno cursed himself. _She's so beautiful... and she obviously wants me, since she wanted me probably more than he wanted her. She was the one who started the kiss, after all..._

He stopped thinking like that, and decided to keep training.

He would try and forget about her, but she never would leave his mind.

It had been a long two weeks.

Reno hadn't seen Raine any of that time, though he had seen the rest of the Nettles, as they seemed to want to keep a strong relationship with Reno's family. Or at least Reno and his mother. They hadn't meet Reno's father yet, and Reno really didn't want them to meet. If they meet Reno's old man, they might think differently of him.

And, his mother told him that she had been deeply considering divorcing Reno's father. She told him that she was having a hard time, because she really did love him, but he was so abusive. Reno asked if she had spoken any of this to Robert (he had begun calling his father by his first name for a long time now), and she said that she hadn't. They was probably for the best, since if he didn't approve, he would probably take out his rage on her.

Also, Reno had spoken with Jamie. Jamie denied everything, however, before he had a chance to speak to Jamie, he managed to speak with her friends. They all admitted and apologized for what they had done, many blaming it on peer pressure. Jamie, like Reno, was very popular, good looking, and people would do just about everything like them, if given the chance. Maybe that's why Jamie was so convinced that she and Reno should be together, but Reno, especially after what she had done, though she won't admit it, would never go back out with her.

Finally, Reno managed to keep the money hidden from his father, however he told his mother, who promised not to tell Robert. Robert probably would steal the money, run away some place, and blow all the money on booze. Reno spent some of the money on materia, he now, in addition to his fire, bolt, and cure, had ice, bio, and barrier. Reno also bought the best knuckles, and checked out some pistols, and discovered that the Nettles had spent an extra three hundred gil to make the gun magically enhanced, making it stronger and the recoil weaker.

All in all, a lot had happened, and it had been long, but pretty soon it would seem a lot easier.

Reno was walking down the main street when he saw Jamie shouting at someone. Reno sighed and was about to turn away, when he heard Jamie say, "You came back for another round, you rich bitch?!"

Reno instantly turned and ran towards Jamie, however Jamie ran behind a building towards where she had been yelling. Reno turned down there and saw Jamie punching Raine, and Reno was instantly enraged. "JAMIE!" Reno shouted. "Let go of her!"

Jamie stopped and turned towards Reno, while Raine dropped to the ground, crying. Reno was about to run to Raine's side, but he had to deal with Jamie first. "You _stupid_ bitch!" Reno shouted to her.

"You're calling _me_ a bitch?" Jamie asked, acting innocent. "Um, she yelled at me!" Jamie said and ran up to Reno, forcing herself into his arms, "And then she-"

Reno didn't let her finished, as he threw her to the ground. "Don't you _ever_ touch me _or_ her _again_!"

"Reno, what are you talking about?" Jamie asked.

"You stupid bitch!" Reno shouted. "We're broken up! I _hate_ your personality! And, just leave us alone," Reno then put his hand on his gun that was now always with him, "or next time you won't be so lucky."

She got up and shouted, "You'll regret this, Reno! I swear you will!" She then ran off, and Reno went over and crouched next to Raine.

"Are you alright?" Reno asked.

"Ye-yeah," Raine said. She was lying, and that was clear. She had gotten a cut or two on her legs from being thrown down to the ground, and it looked like she was going to have a couple bruises.

"You sure don't look alright," Reno replied in a slightly sympathetic voice. "Just wait there for a minute." Reno stood and concentrated on the materia that was now on his gun, and then exclaimed, "CURE!"

Raine seemed to glow white for a minute, and then her cuts were pealed over with scab tissue, and her bruises were completely gone. "Wow..." she mumbled. "I knew that magic was strong, but I never knew..."

"That's not much," Reno told her. "This is still a level one, and my materia skills aren't the best..."

"But it worked," Raine told him. Reno then pulled his hand out, she grabbed it, and he pulled her up.

"Uhh... you wanna go get something to eat, or something?" Reno asked. He was nervous, which was very surprising, since not only was he normally cool and collected and never had trouble talking to women. But Raine was different, and, now thinking back on it, he may have known it from the very beginning and just fully realizing it now.

"I already ate," Raine told him. "But, I would like to see the ocean... I've been here for a week already, but I still haven't seen the ocean."

"Alright," Reno smiled. The two walked down the roads to the dock, hands enwrapped with each other.

About fifteen minutes later they reached the harbor. It was gigantic, and filled with boats as far as the eye could see, except for one dock. That one dock was a public dock, which was usually used for fishing, but, since there were no fishers there, it would be for those two tonight.

Reno lead her to the end of the dock and they sat down, dangling their legs over the end of the end of the dock. Raine looked amazed over the ocean, as the moon began to rise high in the sky. The water reflected the moon romantically, and Reno couldn't have dreamed of a better time to bring any woman down to the sea than this.

"Wow, it's beautiful!" Raine exclaimed. "I never would have dreamed that the ocean was so beautiful!"

"Yeah," Reno said, he wrapped his arm around his shoulder and she willingly leaned up against him. "But it's nothing compared to the beauty of the woman sitting next to me."

Raine looked up at Reno, and gently kissed him on the cheek. "That's pretty corny," she smiled.

"I know," Reno nodded, and chuckled. "But it got me a kiss."

She chuckled, and smiled, leaning more up to Reno, as if he were a back rest.

Reno smiled, for the first _real_ time he felt like he was truly happy, none of his girlfriends had ever made him fell like this.

What do you think?

This was the most romantic chapter, so don't worry about it, and for those who like romance and are still reading the story... well... I'm sorry... but there'll still be some romance in the next two chapters.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	3. The Orphan, Reno

1Disclaimer: I don't own ff7 or any of it's characters.

This is the chapter where Reno's life starts going down the drain, so I hope you enjoy Reno's torment. And when you're down, PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Chapter Three: The Orphan, Reno

It had been about a year and a half since Reno and Raine spent the night on the docks.

They had been dating ever since then, and Reno, who was now sixteen, had begun spending a lot of time at their mansion, and the rest of the Nettles couldn't have been happier. The boy, Max, still idolized him and was taking fighting lessons, as to be more like Reno. Her parents both still loved Reno and often invited him over, even if Raine wasn't there, and they had have a nice conversation.

Reno usually didn't enjoy the conversations, and instead was just being polite, but occasionally they would share a conversation that Reno did enjoy. Those conversations usually involved Reno and his guns. Reno now owned the magnum, which was still and always will be his favorite gun, one shotgun, one machine gun, and three rifles, one was double barrel and the other two were single. Reno was a freak, when it came to guns. Like a crack addict was to crack, Reno would use each of his guns at least once a day. Raine would often joke about Reno one day going psycho and gun down a bunch of people, Reno, however, was worried that it could be real.

Reno and Raine had also been going great. They had begun sleeping with each other about seven months ago. The was the first real time that Reno really thought that having sex should be called lovemaking. Also, for the first time, Reno _knew_ he was in love. Before, in several of his other relationships, he thought that he was in love because of the attention, sex, and the looks that his girlfriends showed him. At one time, one terrible, terrible time that Reno wished he would forget, he even thought that he might even love Jamie, though it had just been because of her supreme sex, not lovemaking, but sex.

Reno's mother never really talked more about the divorce that she was planning. Reno guessed that she had proposed the idea to Robert, and he convinced her not to, probably by beating her silly. But, Reno hadn't been home recently, since he spent most his time with Raine and her family, and wouldn't know if Robert was beating his mother or not. Reno thought that he may not keep his beating, since, from a very young age, Reno had been under the impression that Robert acted that way because of Reno. Otherwise, Reno's mother probably would have left Robert before Reno was born, or even conceived.

But, Reno's life had been going well. Too bad his mother's life hadn't.

Reno walked down the road from school, one of the rare times that he decided to go to his house from school. But he decided to see his mother. He hadn't seen her in at least two weeks, and hadn't seen his father, thankfully, in four. He stepped up to the door of his home, and sighed, wondering, if his father was home, that how he would react. He would be angry, no doubt about that. Robert would be angry for at least two reasons; one because of his natural hatred towards Reno and two because Reno was back.

Reno wouldn't be surprised to come home and discover that his room had become a den or a study. Also, Reno wouldn't be surprised if Robert had completely exiled Reno from the house, and drive Reno out of his home. Reno sighed, surely his mother wouldn't let Robert do that, but then again, without Reno there all that time, maybe Robert had been completely broken, perhaps just a shell of what she once was.

Reno stood at the doorway, beginning to consider if he should go inside or not.

If he did go inside and it was just his mother that was at home, he would surely have a good time, talking to his mother as if they were old friends. He would definitely leave before his father came home, since his father would surely either beat him, his mother, or both. But, until then, Reno would probably have a great time and would try to get some of the things that he left behind, then he would probably live at the Nettle's mansion. There, he would spend, hopefully, the rest of his life with Raine.

But eventually, Robert would return and probably find and beat Reno, and definitely would beat his mother. Reno sighed and turned away and was about to head back to the Nettle's mansion, when he heard a scream emitting from his home. Reno turned instantly and tried turning the nob and found that it was locked, then Reno heard his mother cry, "ROBERT STOP!!!"

Reno then pounded his shoulder into the door, then again, and a third time, and the door was knocked down. Reno caught one more ear piercing scream, and then there was just utter silence. Reno was scared, he was beyond scared. He had never been more frightened than he was right now. Reno tried running away, but his legs wouldn't let him. Instead, his legs carried him through the house and to the kitchen, where he saw a pool of blood.

Reno looked up from the blood, again not wanting to but having to, and saw his mother lying on the table with a knife imbedded in her chest, wearing crimson clothes. Reno then saw his father standing next to the body, just staring at it. "Mom..." Reno muttered.

At first, he thought that the miner hadn't heard him, but then the large man turned to Reno. At first, Reno thought he saw fear in Robert's eyes, but then he saw a burning fire in them, something that he imagined his mother saw in the last seconds of her life. The man tore the knife out of the deceased body of Julia, and rushed towards Reno. Reno dove to the right, and his father just charged right past him, knife first, and surely would have impaled Reno had he not dove out of the way.

Reno reached for his holster that contained his beloved magnum, and aimed at the large miner. "STOP!" Reno shouted, the gun shaking in his arm. Robert, however, simply spun around and continued charging at Reno. Reno felt the magnum's trigger, and was put the smallest bit of pressure on the trigger, but never pulled it enough. No matter how inviting the trigger was, he couldn't pull it on his own fa... on Robert.... at least not yet.

Reno rolled out of the way as Robert dug the knife into the wooden floor, making it almost slide out of his hand, unfortunately, Reno wasn't lucky. Reno jumped back up to his feet, and now aimed at Robert where Reno was once lying. "I WILL KILL YOU!!!" Reno shouted, however, once again, the miner seemed not to notice and instead stumbled back to his feet and began chasing Reno.

Reno was about to run, and then stumbled over his feet and fell to the ground, fortunately his gun was still at hand. However, then Robert cut up with him, and threw the knife into Reno's lower back, near if not a direct hit to his right kidney. Now, Reno felt confident enough and spun on his back and fired three shots into Robert's stomach. Robert, however, then just stumbled, surprising not falling on his back, but then he fell forward, landing directly on Reno.

At first, Reno's back flared in pain, but then he was more concerned about his father's large body crushing his smaller stature. "HELP!" Reno cried. "HELP ME!!! ANYONE!!!" Fatigue, however, took Reno by the head, and he fainted, he was completely exhausted physically and mentally.

Reno woke up a week later in the Nettle's mansion, in a bed that he normally slept in when he was invited to stay over for the night. The bed was what Reno would call unnaturally comfortable, with all white sheets. The head of the bed was right under an arch shaped window, that had a tree behind it, and, the first night Reno slept over, well, slept over in _this_ bed, he had been reminded of a horror movie, since the shadow of the tree in the moonlight greatly reminded Reno of horror movies.

Reno also felt something in his arms, and Reno glanced over the thing in his arm and smiled. It was Raine, and she was lying in Reno's bed, which was a queen size, and had her arm on Reno's chest and she had positioned his arm to cover her back. The next thing Reno felt was a dull pain in his back and an aching pain in his stomach. Reno knew what the pain in his back was, but he was mystified by the pain in his stomach. Reno lifted the thin sheet of blanket that covered his body, careful not to wake Raine, and saw that his stomach was wrapped in a cast.

_What happened_? Reno thought, and suddenly wondered what the pain in his back, the pain that he claimed to know, was. _What's going on_?

Reno lied the sheet back down, and slight turned to look for a clock, when Raine moved and mumbled, "Don't move yet, Reno..." Suddenly, her eyes shot open, as if realizing that Reno was now awake, and looked up at him, with a half shock expression and a half merry look. "You're... awake..." She said, still in disbelief.

"Yeah," Reno nodded, smiling at her. Reno then, to prove to her and to himself that he was here, kissed her forehead very softly. "What happened?"

"Oh Reno!" she exclaimed, seeming not to hear his question. She leapt on top of him and kissed him frantically, actually, Reno was beginning to wonder if she was going to rip off the sheet and whatever clothes he might be wearing. Reno then moaned slightly in pain, despite his pleasurable thoughts, since she had her knee dug into his stomach wound. "Oh, sorry!" she exclaimed, and rolled off him. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright... I guess..." Reno muttered. "What's... going on?"

"Don't you remember?" Raine asked with a look of worry in her eyes.

"Remember what?" Reno asked.

"Well... what's the last thing you remembered?"

"I remember..." Reno muttered, trying to think back. "Um... Going to my house to get my stuff... but that's all..."

"You don't remember... what happened inside the house?" Raine asked.

"No," Reno shook his head. "What happened?"

"You... um..." Raine muttered. "Maybe I should let the doctor tell you..."

"No," Reno said. "I want _you_ to tell me. I want to hear the words from the woman that I love."

Raine deeply blushed at the statement, and said, "well, we don't know exactly what happened... since we weren't there... but... well, are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes," Reno answered without hesitation.

"Alright," Raine nodded.

Raine took a deep breath and began, "Well... we think that when you went inside, you saw that your father killed your mother. Then you and your father got into a fight or he snuck up on you and stabbed you in the back. But then you shot your father with your gun... and then he fell on top of you, breaking one of your ribs..."

"My... mother's..." Reno muttered. "Dead...?"

"Oh Reno," Raine said as she sobbed softly, and wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's all right... everything will be ok..."

"My father... killed her..." Reno muttered.

"Yes, Reno," Raine said, still sobbing slightly for him more than for herself. "I'm so sorry!"

"Is... my fa... Robert dead?" Reno asked.

"Yes. You shot him."

"Is it... my fault?" Reno questioned himself.

"What? Reno?" Raine asked.

"I wasn't there for her..." Reno muttered. "I... didn't help her..."

"Reno?" Raine asked again.

Just then, the door opened and a man with gray hair combed to one side and a small mustache wearing doctor's clothes stepped inside. He was slim and about average height, maybe a little more, and he stepped over to the bed with a notepad and pencil. "Miss Raine," the old man kindly said. "Could you please leave?"

"Yes, of course," she nodded, and left, giving one last caring look at Reno.

"Now, Reno," the old man began once Raine had shut the door. "How are you feeling?"

"..." Reno was silent. "What have I done...?"

"Reno?" the doctor asked.

"I abandoned my mother..." Reno mumbled. "I left her... to die..."

"Nonsense, Reno. Your father killed your mother. You didn't leave her to die... now, how are you feeling?"

"..." Reno was silent for another moment, then answered, "Fine."

"Good," the man said, jotting something down on the paper. "You were actually pretty lucky. Your father-"

"Robert," Reno corrected with a hint of anger. "His name is Robert."

"Right, Robert," the doctor said, writing something else down. "Robert stabbed your back, and missed your right kidney by half an inch! The knife did little damage except for a stab wound. We were able to find you soon enough so that we could treat any infection that was growing, and there were none."

"Why..." Reno mumbled, not listening to anything the doctor was saying. "Why did he do it?"

"Well, upon further inspection," the old man sighed. "We... found divorce papers on the table. We believe that is why your fa... Robert killed her."

"..." Reno was silent. "I... _did_ kill her..."

"What do you mean? You didn't do _anything_ to her."

"I told her to leave him. Almost every time I visited her and he wasn't home I would tell her that... It's my fault... then, I couldn't protect her..."

"Reno, you have done nothing," the old man said, touching Reno's shoulder. "Now, I suggest you get your rest."

Reno nodded, and the doctor left the room, then Reno lied down and closed his eyes, and fell asleep surprisingly easily.

"_Reno..." a woman's voice cried._

_Reno looked around, he was back in his house, but something was different... and Reno immediately realized what it was, the walls were covered in blood. Reno walked towards the source of the voice, and there he saw his mother, and he cringed in fear, but then paralyzed due to his fear. The woman in front of him had nothing in her eye sockets and had maggots crawling in them. Her chest had a large gaping hole, where snakes were crawling in and out of, and all the rest of her flesh was a greenish brown color. Then, to top it off, on the top of her head was a crow glaring down at him._

"_Who... who are you?" Reno asked, surprising himself by being able to talk._

"_You don't even recognize your own mother?" the skeletal being asked._

"_M... mom..." Reno mumbled._

_She then rose a shaky finger towards Reno, "You did this to me... you abandoned me... you left me for dead... you let him kill me..."_

"_No," Reno shook his head. "I didn't kill you... I... I tried to help you!"_

_Suddenly, the crow spoke, "You failed her," it said in a haunting voice that would forever haunt Reno's mind. "You failed her and you will fail others..."_

"_... Others?" Reno asked._

"_Everyone you love," the crow foretold. "Will die. Because of you."_

"_What?" Reno asked. "You're... you're wrong! I KNOW YOU ARE!"_

"_Believe what you wish," the crow told him. "Whether you believe that this is your fault or not, you will realize that it was _you_ who failed her."_

"_NO I DIDN'T!" Reno screamed. Reno spun around, wanting to get away from the crow, and his dad mother. He rushed for the door, and pulled it open, he then leapt through the door and..._

He sprung up and his eyes burst open.

There, he saw all the Nettles gathered up, and they all looked slightly frightened by Reno's actions. "Uhh... sorry..." Reno mumbled.

"How are you feeling, Reno?" Mr. Nettle asked.

"Uhh... alright, I guess..." Reno mumbled once again.

"Are you sure?" Raine asked. "You look a little pale..."

"Yes," Mrs. Nettle echoed. "You do look pale..."

"I'm alright," Reno responded, then slightly smiled. "I... I know it wasn't my fault that my mother was... killed."

"That's right," Raine nodded and smiled. "It's not your fault. If anything you avenged her death. You did the best thing you could have done."

Reno looked up and smiled, "Thank you, Raine."

"Yeah!" Max exclaimed. "You were awesome, Reno!"

Reno chuckled and said, "Thanks, Max."

"Perhaps we should leave Reno alone for a little while," Mr. Nettle purposed.

"Alright," Max sighed and followed his mother and father outside, then turned to Raine. "Aren't you coming, Raine?"

"I'll be out in a minute," Raine responded. Max then shut the door, and Raine and Reno shared a passionate kiss. To Reno, it felt as if he had never been truly kissed before, but, of course, he had.

"Raine..." Reno mumbled when they separated.

"I'm so happy you're alright," Raine told him.

"Thanks," Reno smiled.

"I love you, Reno," Raine told him as she walked to the door.

"I love you, too, Raine," Reno told her, and then she winked at him one last time, then left.

_I love her_, Reno thought. _But... the crow... he said that everyone I love will die... Well, I won't let Raine die... I'll never let her die..._

That's chapter three!

What did you think?!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

and there's more to come!


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